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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26396275">Lay Your Weary Head to Rest</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisisapaige/pseuds/thisisapaige'>thisisapaige</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>First Kiss, Fluff, I'm feeling emotional, Love Confessions, M/M, One Shot, Post Series, Rated T for language, Sam Winchester Ships Castiel/Dean Winchester, Supportive Sam Winchester, about the bunker and the end of the show, mention of Sam Winchester/Eileen, this is how i cope</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:28:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,428</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26396275</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisisapaige/pseuds/thisisapaige</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The world is saved, for good this time. The Winchesters are retired. There is just one more thing Dean has to do.</p><p>  <i>Tell him.</i></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Castiel/Dean Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>214</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Lay Your Weary Head to Rest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I just have a lot of feelings, okay? This is my ending and I'm sticking to it. :)</p><p>Also! Don't worry! There will be an update for The Angel sometime tomorrow. Hope to see you all there!</p><p><a href="https://thisisapaige.tumblr.com/">Come say hi on Tumblr!</a> Let's support each other in this trying time.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Metal screeched and the loud, heavy thunk when the reinforced door latched shut echoed throughout the bunker. Dean had heard it a thousand times before but, this time, it sounded final.</p><p>“Well, that’s the last bag,” Sam said as he bounded down the steps.</p><p>Dean couldn’t remember seeing his little brother so cheerful. The call Sam received from Eileen a few weeks ago had really put the pep in his step. Dean was happy for him, for both of them. After that call, after everything with Chuck, Dean couldn’t blame Sam for his good mood.</p><p>The Winchesters were retired. </p><p>Magic and monsters were fading. In a few short months, there would be no more things lurking in the night. Jack ascended to Heaven, taking his rightful place as ruler. Cas declined Jack’s offer for a place among the clouds. Instead, he opted to fall one last time. </p><p>He opted to stay with Dean.</p><p>There was no more need for a magically warded bunker in the Winchesters' lives. There was no more need for guns, knives, and books of obscure lore. There was no more need for saving people, hunting things, the family business. </p><p>Dean should’ve been happy. He was happy, but once he, Sam, and Cas started to pack up the bunker, reality set in.</p><p>It was the end of an era.</p><p>“Yeah?” Dean leaned against the war room table, arms crossed. “You sure you don’t want your knife collection?”</p><p>Sam smiled the kind of smile Dean always hoped he’d see on his brother again. “I’m sure.” </p><p>“So, this is it then? You got everything packed into that ugly-ass hybrid of yours?”</p><p>“It’s fuel-efficient.”</p><p>“It’s ugly.” Dean rolled his eyes, fond. “We got a whole garage full of vintage cars and you picked that one.”</p><p>Sam returned the eye roll. “We got a whole garage full of vintage cars and you're still driving the same one.”</p><p>“Hey now! I can’t leave Baby behind. She deserves a good retirement.”</p><p>“You’re right, she does.” Sam slapped Dean’s shoulder, his eyes dangerously huge and wet. “So do you.”</p><p>Something suspiciously like tears blurred Dean’s vision. ”You take care of yourself, Sammy.”</p><p>“C’mon, Dean. It’s not like I’m going away forever. I’ll call. I’ll visit.”</p><p>“I know, I know. It’s just--” Dean wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. There. He could almost see Sam. “I’m so proud of you.”</p><p>Sam sniffled, his chin wobbled, and oh no Dean was totally crying now. Sam, with his stupid gargantuan limbs and his ridiculous strength, crushed Dean in one of the most heartfelt hugs of Dean’s life. Considering they lived a life under the constraint threat of death, the bar was pretty damn high. </p><p>Blinking away the tears in his eyes, Sam stepped back. Both of them need a moment to recover.</p><p>“So, you and Cas,” Sam said, “out by the sea. That sounds nice.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Dean couldn't help but smile at the thought. “Time to go to the beach for a reason other than a hunt.”</p><p>“Got any plans for when you get there?”</p><p>“Like what?”</p><p>“Just curious if you’re finally gonna confess, or if you're just gonna go straight into the married life without even noticing.”</p><p>Dean was lucky he didn’t have a drink to spit out. So was Sam. “I-- We-- You--” Dean closed his mouth, took a deep breath, and tried again. “What?”</p><p>“Dude.” Sam threw his hands up. “You can’t be serious.”</p><p>Ugh, feelings. Dean was so fucking bad at feelings. On the last day Sam and Dean were to see each other for a long time, Sam wanted to talk about feelings.</p><p>Yeah, okay. Sam knew. Dean had given up any hope of Sam not knowing years ago. Dean had given up on denying it. Yet, somehow, actually saying it, actually acknowledging it, or doing anything about it at all seemed completely and utterly impossible.   </p><p>“Do you know,” Sam continued, “how frustrating it is to watch you two dance around each other? Look, it’s over. There’s no more threat of death hanging over our heads. The Empty is dealt with. Cas chose to stay on Earth. <em>For you</em>. Just tell him already.”</p><p>Dean licked his lips and looked down at his hands. He rubbed them together over and over again, the sound of his rough calloused palms filling the silence. Now he was retired, he wondered if his hands would be smooth and soft like a white-collar worker.</p><p>Nah. He had a house to build and a car to maintain. </p><p>He wondered if Cas’s hands would become soft. That would be nice. The guy deserved a break.</p><p>“It’s--” Dean’s hands became hot from the fiction. He sat on them to keep them still. “It’s hard.”</p><p>“I know,” Sam said, not unkindly, “but don’t worry. He feels the same. Just tell him.”</p><p>“Easy for you to say. It’s not easy telling Cas--”</p><p>“Tell me what?” Cas asked.</p><p>The blood rushed in Dean’s ears, leaving black spots in his perception of the next few seconds. He knew Sam gave him one of those puppy-dog eyed looks and he knew Cas, still wearing that damn trench coat, stepped in front of Dean. Dean knew Cas gave him a concerned glance, complete with narrowed eyes and that adorable little head tilt. </p><p>Sam saved Dean and answered, “That I’m heading out.” </p><p>“Oh, I see.” Cas faced Sam. “I wish you well.”</p><p>“Thanks. You take care of Dean, alright?” </p><p>“Of course. Though, I’m sure he could do it himself.”</p><p>Sam’s hug for Cas was as fierce as the one he gave Dean. Over Cas’s shoulder, Sam mouthed, <em>tell him. </em></p><p>A few moments later, Sam shut the door of the bunker behind him one last time. Dean jumped at the sound. Cas placed a hand on Dean’s shoulder, the warm weight reassuring. </p><p>“Are you alright?” Cas asked.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s just--” Dean cleared his throat and forced a smile onto his face. “So, buddy, are you all done packing?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“You’re not even holding a bag.”</p><p>Cas stared right into Dean’s eyes, right into Dean’s soul, when he said, “This is all I need.”</p><p>“Right, okay,” Dean breathed the words. “Well, Baby’s all loaded up so we should get going, too. It’s a long way to the coast.”</p><p>“I don’t mind,” Cas said, following Dean up the steps, “I enjoy the company.” </p><p>“Right.”</p><p>Laying his hand against the cold surface of the bunker’s closed door, Dean’s heart beat from his chest. He could feel Cas behind him, a presence that somehow became important to him. This presence, this Castiel, Angel of the Freaking Lord, had somehow chosen Dean. </p><p>Dean’s heart raced. This was it. They were about to leave the bunker. They were about to close the door on hunting life for good. </p><p>And Cas was right behind him waiting for him to do it, waiting to follow Dean into the rest of their lives.</p><p>Dean turned around and Cas was there, right there, warm and solid and beautiful and Dean loved him so, so, so fucking much.</p><p>“Dean?” Cas tilted his head, “are you alright?”</p><p>Was Dean alright? </p><p>He thought about it. Sam was alive, happy, and healthy, off to start a life with someone he cared about. Jack was up in Heaven, using everything he learned about humanity to put the place back into order. And Cas--</p><p>Cas was alive. Cas was on Earth. Cas was with Dean. Cas was going to stay with Dean.</p><p>Dean nodded. He could feel tears in his eyes again but this time he did nothing to fight them. Raising his head so he could stare into Cas’s eyes, Dean smiled. </p><p>
  <em>Tell him. </em>
</p><p>“I love you,” Dean said. </p><p>It was the easiest thing in the world.</p><p>A glow lit Cas from the inside, as if he still had a little angel mojo left inside him. Maybe he always would. Dean couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with Cas and figure out if that were true.</p><p>“I know,” Cas said, the corner of his mouth raised in pride at making that reference, “I love you too.”</p><p>Their first kiss was soft and chaste and perfect.</p><p>When the bunker door sealed closed the final time, Dean did not mind the sound. Hand in hand, Dean and Cas walked to Baby, waiting only a few feet away. The engine rumbled when Dean pulled away from the bunker, like Baby herself was pleased to carry on. </p><p>A few months later, in their new home by the sea, Dean lay his weary head to rest. Cas lay beside him.</p>
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